That's Just The Way It Is
by Ricco Ragazza
Summary: (Incomplete) A start to a serious Final Fantasy Story.
1. Chapter One

That's Just The Way It Is

By NikeGrrrrl

  
======  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters, Squaresoft does. I hope we all know that by now! Please don't use my ideas or my story without my permission :-) That's not too much to ask of ya, right? I would never ask too much of ya great guys! You're my readers! You rule! 

======

Authors Note: Well, I put a lot of time into this story, so it means a lot to me that you guys take a minute out of your day to write a nice little review in the box. If you hate this story tell me so! But try to tell what I did wrong so I can get better, ok?

======

One last thing before I go: Thanks to DH and Chris who sometimes are my pre-readers on this series! Thank for all the help guys! :-)

======

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**"My lord, that party last night was just about exhausting!" Quistis remarked to herself in a gravely tone of voice as she pulled her stiff body up into a sitting position on the satin sheeted bed. She tried to run her long fingers through her golden hair, but quickly found out that would be next to impossible, because what she used to call her hair was now a mass of tangles.**

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**She let out a low groan because her head throbbed from a pounding headache. Her right hand caressed her left temple where it ached the worst as she started to get undressed to take her daily ritual of a morning shower. The blonde pulled herself out her soft bed and started to walk unsteadily toward the miniature closet, that all the unlucky SeeDs had gotten instead of the bigger ones that were in some of the other SeeDs dorm rooms. **

**Suddenly, out of no where, a loud rapping at her thin wooded door made her jump. The startled girl let out a rugged sigh as yanked down a nearby white velvety robe off a hanger in her closet. She tied the robe up around her skinny waist and started to make her way to the nearby door. The brownish colored, thick, itchy carpet felt rather warm to her cold feet. One problem that she had brought with her from childhood was her very cold feet. **

**"One moment," The groggy girl said to whoever had just knocked on her door. She walked slowly to her bathroom and grabbed a slick, pink and purple hairbrush and started to untangle clumps of hair one at a time. IT was a grueling process, that of untangling her baby soft hair, but one that was necessary for the striking girl to look acceptable.**

**"Quistis, how much sleep do you need! It's two o'clock in the afternoon, sleepy head!" Selphie yelled from the other side of the dark brown wooden door. The hyperactive young girl had already been standing in the musty smelling hallway for what had seemed to her like an hour. She stopped her hopping and fidgeting, patience was not a gift the good lord had bestowed onto her, and banged on the wooden door with both of her small hands as hard as her small muscles would allow.**

**Quistis hurried and tried to finish the brushing job on her, now much less, tangled hair. The blonde brushed through her hair one last time; looked in the mirror at her fuzzy reflection(She had lost her glasses last night), and then tossed her, now full of her precious hair, hairbrush into a nicely woven basket full of other hair accessories.**

**Selphie quit pounding on the flimsy door; she was sure it was going to crack in half at any moment, and getting into trouble was not exactly her idea of fun. The, now very impatient young SeeD, wrinkled her freckled nose; why did she have to go and get everyone out of their beds? **

**Quistis flipped through her closet looking for her outfit that she would wear, which was rather difficult because her clothes were so tightly packed in, and she decided that today would be her casual day. A light purple tank top caught her eye, so she pulled it out of the dark closet in a hurry. Remembering that her room was still dark, the girl scrambled over to her light switch and flicked it on.**

**She untied her robe and let it fall to the floor. Then, quickly pulled on a pair of dark denim jeans, that she had got out of her top drawer the night before, and then pulled her shirt over her throbbing head. The, now very late SeeD, ran over to her light brown dresser and yanked open the top drawer and frantically searched through it for her white crew socks. When she found a pair, she sat down on the soft carpeted floor and hurriedly put them on her cold feet.**

**Right as she was about to scream her leather lungs out and break her friend's door down, her newly found best friend opened her door and stepped out of the dorm room to the blue and white colored hallway with a tired grin on her face. Selphie sighed in relief, Quistis took too long to get ready in the morning! Selphie barely took any time at all to get herself ready; she'd never fully understand the complicated mind of Quistis Trepe.**

**"Finally! I thought you were _never_,ever, ever, _ever, _gonna come out of that dorm room!" Selphie said after Quistis had shut her dorm room door with a _slam_. Quistis merely rolled her eyes, and shook her head, she was finally getting used to Selphie's attitude, which was very out of place at a military academy, happy and go-lucky…**

**"My dear, dear, friend, I had to untangle my unruly, crazy, tangled, awful looking, messy, knotted, jumbled, matted hair! You should have seen it! Not to mention getting dressed. Did you want me to come out here stark naked?" The ex-instructor asked the energetic teenage, that just happened to be her best friend, in a sarcastic tone of voice.**

**"Heeey! Irvine might have liked it, but I don't fly that way girlfriend!" Selphie said hitting Quistis playfully in her left arm. Selphie was _trying_ to get used to how flirtatious Irvine was, but why should she care anyway? It wasn't like they were going together or anything…**

**"Yeah, yeah, cut the play. Why did you wake me up so early in the morning? I was _trying_ to get some shut eye!" Quistis said with a look that Selphie knew meant she was _trying _to get serious, which sometime with Selphie was a very hard thing for the ex-instructor to do.**

**"Early!? Ok, ok, never mind. The headmaster wants a word with ya chica! Uh, and he wants a few more words cause I gotta get Zell and Irvine up, too! Ugh! What a major pain the butt!" Selphie almost yelled and stomped her foot. **

**"Shhh! Quiet down I have a headache. Why didn't he tell us over the loud speaker?" Quistis asked rubbing her temples again and grimacing from the pain. Her first stop before talking with the headmaster would be the infirmary for some aspirin, because this headache was beginning to hurt even worse.**

**"Tee-Hee! Somebody got a _little_ too excited last night and broke it! So, of course, Selphie the messenger has to come and get everyone up," She said with a hint of resentment in the tone of her high-pitched voice. The poor girl couldn't understand why she always had to be the messenger.**

**"Ok, I'll be up there in just a little bit." Quistis answered; turning on her heel and walking in the direction of the infirmary. She couldn't go without food much longer or she would feel even worse and sick to her stomach. Not to mention she desperately needed some aspirin.**

**"We don't have a little bit! It's _really _important!" Selphie just couldn't understand Quistis, couldn't she see that it was important!? The confused SeeD sighed and run after Quistis to _try_ to get her to reconsider, Selphie didn't want to get in trouble.**

**Quistis stopped all of the sudden and Selphie dashed right into her back, knocking both girls to the hard floor. They both were on their backs, they both laid on the cold floor for a few moments before Selphie let out a groan.**

**"Oops! Well, You need to _hurry _up to the third floor, or I'll be in for it!" Selphie said to Quistis as she jumped up to her feet and wiped off imaginary dust particles off her short yellow dress. She reached out a hand to help Quistis off the floor.**

**"Ok, ok. I promise to hurry, but next time maybe you can not knock me to the floor?" Quistis asked while rubbing her head all the while. Selphie was not helping this headache of hers, and now she had a bruised back to worry about. This wasn't exactly her picture of the greatest way to start off a work day.**

**"Don't get all mad! It's not my fault! Just hurry up! I gotta go get Zell…..you know how hard it is to get him up!" Selphie hated this job, why was she always the messenger? They could have sent Irvine instead. Now her best friend was mad at her, she let out a rugged sigh and shrugged her slim shoulders; then ran down to the corner towards Zell's dorm room. **

**"Selphie?" Quistis asked to empty air, no answer. Selphie was already out of hearing range. Quistis was beginning to hate this SeeD job, now she didn't even have enough time to get a good breakfast. The hungry girl merely sighed and headed off in the direction of the infirmary.******

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**Selphie walked down to Zell's dorm room with a heavy heart, she hated being such a klutz. Hopefully, Quistis would get over it soon, or Selphie might go crazy. Now nearing her next stop, Zell's dorm room, she prepared herself, this one might take awhile.******

**She let out a hopeful sigh and straightened herself, then knocked on the door nice and hard, not to hard though, these doors were awful flimsy. She knew that Zell was not going to get up without a fight, and Selphie Tilmitt was definitely not in the mood to deal with someone getting in the way of her mission right now. After all, she was already going to be in trouble for being late.**

**"Zell! GET UP! ALREADY!" She yelled as she now beat on the door. This was just not working for her, and she couldn't think of any other way to get Zell up. The frustrated girl moaned and backed away from the door. She was going to have to go in.**

**She backed away to the far wall, and then ran and kicked the door open. The small girl went flying in from the impact, right into Zell who had just stood up. For the second time that day, Selphie Tilmitt knocked someone else to the floor.**

**"Ugh! I have bad Karma!" She shrieked as she brought herself up into a sitting position. The now very frustrated girl rubbed her head, she had banged it up against the foot of Zell's bed when she came flying in through his door.**

**"What the…? What are you doin' in my room?!" Zell asked furrowing his eyebrows together. What a way to start off the day, getting knocked to the floor by a crazyninety pound girl. His stomach growled, he needed some breakfast. The spiky haired boy turned his head to his clock that sat on his nightstand beside his bed, two thirty! How long had he slept? **

**"I HAD TO GET YOUR LAZY SELF UP! You know it is _not _easy to get you up! And then! You get up and don't say anything, so I kicked the door open, and then I hit my head, and knock you over, which is the second time today I knocked someone over, and my luck just is awful today, and your not even dressed, so I'll be here forever-" Selphie said in a fast voice while motioning with her hands wildly. **

**Zell grabbed her hands to cut her off, she must have been going crazier by each second that went by. He shut his eyes and groaned, now he had a pounding headache. This day was not looking to good for either of them so far, and Selphie wasn't making things any better for them by going on a rampage.**

**"Hey! Man, calm down, you're goin' postal on me here," Zell said to the now red in the face teenager. She stomped her small foot, and pulled her arms away from him. The blonde boy didn't understand how much trouble she was going to be in when she went back up stairs.**

**"I HAVE TO GOOOOO!" Selphie screeched on the top of her little leather lungs. She didn't want to get herself into anymore trouble, and reasoning with Mr. Zell Dincht wasn't getting her anywhere anyway. With one last heavy sigh she stomped her way to the door and shut it with a slam leaving a very confused Zell standing in the same place staring at the door.**

**He shook his head to wake himself up a little more. "O.K. I guess I get no breakfast, big time bummer! I hope Cid makes this quick!" Zell said to himself as he went and walked over to his dresser to put some decent clothes on. He flipped through every drawer in the dresser. Zell wrinkled his nose and slammed the door shut, he had no clean clothes. What was he gonna do about that? He had no time to go wash his piles of dirty clothes that were all over his dorm room.**

**The discouraged martial arts expert staggered to the other side of his room, stepping over the piles of his dirty clothes, over to his closet. He didn't care anymore, just as long as the clothes were clean and not dirty. The only clothes that were in the empty, under-used closet were clothes that his mom had bought him. Great now he would have to look like a total geek.**

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******"What is taking them so long! I thought I told Selphie to _hurry_!" Squall said in an irritated voice as he paced around the bridge of Balamb Garden. He stopped pacing for a moment and took time to look at the scenery. The view was just dazzling from the bridge. Green-blue wave less ocean as far as you could see on three sides, a blue cloudless sky with a bright yellow blinding sun that was just beginning to make its way down from the top of the endless sky, and then a rocky coastland and upcoming mountains barely in view with cloud covered tops. Exactly what Squall could call a perfect day…******

**"Yoo-hoo! Squall! Earth to Squall! Are you spacin' out on me _again_!?" Rinoa raised her voice and said to Squall. She had been trying to talk to him, when he started frowning and looking out over the ocean. The general's daughter hated when he would act like this. She twirled a piece of her mid-length black and highlighted hair with her index finger on her right hand while she tapped her foot and waited for her boyfriend to remember that she was also in the room.**

**"Uh, yeah…sorry…" Squall answered as he pulled his gaze away from the beautiful scenery. The Gunblade specialist knew it irritated his impatient girlfriend when he took time out of the day to think, something that she should try a _little_ more often. It wasn't a totally bad thing that he thought a lot, well, not totally, but maybe he should cut down a little bit…**

**"Back to Selphie being late?" Rinoa asked as she let her fall back down to her shoulder. Maybe she shouldn't have brought that back up, but she had to start a conversation or her boyfriend might space out on her again. It was a tiring job talking _all_ the time to keep him in focus, and it made her seem like some never ending jukebox that just kept playing songs, over and over and over…**

**"Yeah, like I was saying, she needs to hurry up! I don't know what Headmaster Cid wants to tell us but I know that it is important! She is slowing us down!" Squall said in a loud voice as he started pacing again. He couldn't help but get irritated, he could have had the job done himself a _long_ time ago. That's why he preferred just doing things himself and not leaving his fate in anyone else's hands.**

**Rinoa let out an amused laugh. Squall gave her a look, and she covered her mouth with her left hand to muffle the sound. "Squall! Stop pacing silly! Everything-will-be-o-k. al-right?" Rinoa said to him in a slow, but playful voice after she had collected herself. He was quite the sight to see, pacing around the bridge and getting all irritated. Rinoa knew everything would be alright, but she wondered about Squall sometimes…******

**"Squall never really ever could take high-stress situations." A medium-high voice said from the floor below them. Rinoa gave a big smile and ran to lift just in time to see Quistis and Irvine coming up. The brunette let out a happy laugh and hugged Quistis when she was still standing on the lift.**

**Irvine opened his mouth in a hurt manner. "Hey, where's my hug?" Irvine asked as they both stepped off the creaky lift onto the solid hard white tile floor of the bridge. He opened his arms and closed his brown eyes and waited for Rinoa to give him a hug like she had just gave Quistis.**

**Rinoa pulled away from Quistis and laughed joyfully. The young sorceress went over to Irvine and looked at him. "Irvine, you might as well open your eyes and move along! You aren't getting a hug!" Rinoa answered to his happy face. She rolled her big round brown eyes and turned on her heel and went toward where Squall was standing. **

**Quistis laughed and hit Irvine in the stomach; then turned and followed Rinoa. The cowboy looking boy held his stomach and pretended that Quistis had hurt him severely. He gave her a hurt look and over-reacted as much as he could. When no one bought his story he magically recovered and followed the girls. ******

**"Finally! Gosh, Quistis. It took you long enough to get up here! Now where are Selphie and Zell!?" Squall asked in an infuriated voice. Those two teenagers better hurry up because he was losing his patience, and it wasn't like he had much of that to start with.******

**"Sorry, but it takes me a little time to get ready in the morning! Selphie went to wake Zell up, so it might be awhile," Quistis answered to her impatient commander. The blonde girl wondered what the problem was, why would the Headmaster call them up here in such a hurry?**

**They all sighed and decided that they would have to wait this one out. Squall began pacing again, Quistis sat down and leaned against the right wall, Irvine turned his hat down and leaned against the right wall, and Rinoa sat Rinoa style with her arms wrapped around her legs in the middle of the floor.**

**Garden was on autopilot back to its Balamb resting place by the sea. The Garden made a slow right turn and the sun came flooding in. The bright clear rays lit up the floor and you could see all of the gray dust that was on the white tile floor. It looked like it hadn't been swept in at least a week; after all the happened recently it was no wonder, the whole Garden had practically fallen apart during the whole sorceress ordeal.**

**It had been about ten minutes and still no sign of Selphie or Zell. Squall was beginning to pace faster and wore his thinking frown, while everyone else busied them selves with minor tasks such as twirling their hair(Rinoa) or taking a minor nap(Irvine).**

**Quistis sighed and looked out the big window out to the sea. No land could be seen now and they finally on a straight course to Balamb. No birds could be seen this far out over the blue-greenendless seeming ocean. The blonde girl sighed and switched her gaze to the floor.**

**Suddenly, voices could be heard from the lower level, arguing voices. A girl was yelling at someone… a guy. Everyone suddenly became alert. Quistis and Rinoa scrambled to their feet to go and see what the trouble was. Squall stopped pacing and walked over to see who it was also. Irvine was, of course, still fast asleep.**

**"I don't understand you! What is your problem! When I tell everyone, you are so gonna get it! You're gonna be so sorry!" A high pitched voice screamed.**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

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**Review my good friends! REVIEW!!!!!!**


	2. Chapter Two

That's Just The Way It Is: Chapter Two

By NikeGrrrrl

  
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Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters, Squaresoft does. I hope we all know that by now! Please don't use my ideas or my story without my permission:-) That's not too much to ask of ya, right? I would never ask too much of ya great guys! You're my readers! You rule! 

======

Authors Note: Well, I put a lot of time into this story, so it means a lot to me that you guys take a minute out of your day to write a nice little review in the box. If you hate this story tell me so! But try to tell what I did wrong so I can get better, ok? Please, please?

======

One last thing before I go: Thanks to DH and Chris who sometimes are my pre-readers on this series! Thank for all the help guys! :-) 

======

**"What? Hey, now, don't go tellin' everyone! I'm sorry, ok? It _will not_ happen again!" A masculine voice hollered back at the young woman in a desperate tone. The voice sounded a lot like…Zell! It was Zell and Selphie! What were they quarrelling about, and so violently? Something must have happened on their short way to the bridge.**

**By the sound of their irritated voices the two teenagers were in a major disagreement. Which was very out of the ordinary because Selphie hardly ever raised her voice the slightest bit, unless the hyperactive girl was shouting out in pleasure. No one that was on the bridge could even imagine what Zell could have done to make Selphie so upset that she would _yell_ at one her dearest friends.**

**Quistis made her way to the lift where she would be able to make out their shapes and hear the two arguing young people better. "Tell everyone what?" Quistis questioned to the quarrelling pair as she squinted and bent over to peer down through the cracks of the lift. The blonde girl could barely make out Zell and Selphie's shapes, Zell had both of his hands raised in a innocent gesture, quite typical of him when he was in any kind of trouble, and Selphie was motioning with her hands chaotically.**

**Rinoa followed behind Quistis slowly and wore a thoughtful look on her soft featured face. The brunette put her hands behind her back and tilted her head as she followed Quistis's lead, a natural born leader in Rinoa's mind.General Caraway's daughter stayed about five steps behind her lead, and opened her ears to all sound so that she could hear what their friends were saying below them. The sorceress had outstanding hearing now, one of the pluses of being a sorceress.**

**Squall wrinkled his nose and followed behind the two girls. He hoped that the two teenagers were going to come up to the bridge soon, he was losing all of his patience very quickly. The brown haired boy could barely make out their voices, and he could tell there was an intense argument going on between the two teenage SeeDs, that were some of his best friends. He hoped nothing to awful had just happened…**

**"Fine then! If you wanna act like such a jerk…I'll just have to leave!" Selphie yelled in a voice so loud and high pitched it startled sleeping Irvine, well he had been sleeping. Quistis saw Selphie stomp her way to the door and shut it with a slam. Then Zell put his head in one of hands for a moment and then sprinted after the distressed brown haired SeeD.**

**"Selphie! Headmaster Cid has to talk with us! Come back here before we get into anymore trouble!" He yelled as he ran off after her leaving four puzzled teenagers to let their minds wander to what the meaning of that could have been. Why would Selphie get so angry over nothing? It just didn't make any sense, and Zell had never made Selphie mad before then…**

**Irvine let out a yawn and stretched is arms above his head, knocking his brown leather cowboy hat to the floor. It turned in circles and finally sat on the hard tile floor waiting for the boy in the cowboy get-up to set it back upon his head. He bent over so he could reach it quickly. He snatched it quickly, the gunslinger didn't want anyone to see his hair which was very messed up from having the hat on his head.**

**"Do you sleep with that hat on?" Quistis asked thoughtfully, she knit her thin eyebrows together and waited for an answer from their drowsy cowboy comrade. It seemed to her that he never separated himself with his gun or cowboy hat. Quistis**** allowed the muscles of her rosy cheeks to pull back and form a small curious smirk. She was guessing that he would reply to her and say something that had obscene implications.******

**Irvine positioned the hat carefully on his head, and then leaned against the wall with an arrogant look on his dark tan face. "Well, well, why would you care to know what I _sleep _with Quistis Trepe? You seem so very interested." He said back to her in a voice that made Quistis frown deeper.**

**"No, I do not care what _you_ sleep with, I was just thinking you never seem to part with your gun or that dumb cowboy hat." Quistis answered back to him in a matter-a-fact tone of voice. She had already prepared herself for his comeback to her innocent questions. When the words reached Irvine's ears he opened his mouth and wore a hurt look on his face.**

**He placed his right hand on his chest, and then flinched as if he were in sudden pain. "Ouch, now that hurt me right here," he said pointing to where his heart was located in his chest. Quistis rolled her piercing ice blue eyes and marched over to where the loud speaker was held. She could keep herself entertained and kill some time while trying to repair it**

**Irvine shrugged his shoulders superficially(He was still trying to pretend that Quistis had offended him); then pulled his soft leather hat over his brown eyes and, for the second time that day, tried to get some more sleep in. After all, he hadn't even gone to sleep the night before, how could a guy sleep when there were so many ladies that adored him?**

**"I wonder what Zell and Selphie were arguing about?" Rinoa mused aloud. She started to twirl a piece of highlighted blonde hair around her right index finger. She then plopped back down to the floor and sat with her arms around her legs. She was completely out of ideas already.**

**"I have no idea, but it must have been bad, 'cause Selphie doesn't get that mad for no reason. And second of all, they better hurry up! Anyone wanna volunteer to go and get them back up here?" Squall asked hopefully, but all he got were looks from Rinoa and Quistis, Irvine of course was already out cold again.**

**"I'm fixing the loud speaker, sorry." Quistis answered as she picked up a medium sized, shiny, silver wrench from the gray and white square toolbox that was already sitting beside the broken down loud speaker. It was apparent that someone had already been in the process of fixing it when they were called up here.**

**Quistis stuck the whole upper half of her body into metal box where all of the loud speaker's wires were kept, the internal organs of the system. She tinkered with the wires and such in the gray metal box for about two minutes and then slowly, to make sure she didn't bump her head, pulled herself out.**

**"Somebody broke this baby good," she remarked as she dusted of her hands off and sat up. The blonde girl bit her lower pinkish lip, and tried to think of what she could do to fix the loud speaker. Some of the inside wires had been badly damaged.**

**Squall pretended that he hadn't heard her, he let out a strong sigh and started pacing around the bridge again. "Whatever their problem is, they better resolve it and hurry up here before I lose it." Squall said in a dark tone of voice.**

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**Zell hoped he could reach the elevator before Selphie went down, because then he would have to wait forever and then he wouldn't be able to find her for ages, Balamb Garden had too many good hiding places. He had to reason with her, she had such a big mouth. The short blonde boy reached the elevator just as Selphie was pressing the button, she gave him a look of pure venom as she frantically pushed one of the buttons.**

**He dove desperately toward the closing doors of the elevator and put his hands between the doors and stopped them from shutting. Selphie put an outraged look on her face as he scrambled to his feet and hopped into the elevator. He smiled broadly, and hit the 1F button and watched as the doors silently slid to a closed. **

**"It's gonna be a long ride down," Selphie said in an unhappy tone of voice as she moved to the far side of the elevator, and away from Zell. The petite girl let out a rugged sigh and leaned against the cold hard glass of the side of the elevator she was on. She watched as they made their way down, the fountain on the first floor getting bigger, and bigger.**

**Zell opened his mouth to speak to Selphie, but he was interrupted as the elevator made an earsplitting noise and came to a stop with a jolt that knocked both of SeeDs to the hard, thin, red carpeted floor. It must have been Selphie's bad "Karma" because she had been knocked to the floor a great many time for one person in just one day.**

**"Ouch…"Selphie said as she slowly opened her blue eyes and rubbed her head with her left hand where she had bonked it against the thick glass, the same place she had bonked it on Zell's bed. She pulled herself back up into a sitting position and looked out the window, they were almost even with the second floor now.**

**Zell let out a low groan and pulled himself up, too. He rubbed his right arm which had been smacked against the tough elevator door. "Are you alright?" He questioned to Selphie, it looked like she had been smacked up against the thick glass window.**

**"Does it look like I'm alright?" She snapped back at him and ran her thin fingers through her silky brown hair where she had been rubbing her head. The brunette gave him a mean look and turned back to continue staring out of the transparent window.**

**Zell sighed and pulled himself up to his feet. He lifted the sleeve of the gray T-shirt he was wearing and took a look at his arm, there was a bruise that was already forming. The short blonde boy sighed and pulled his sleeve back down, that would hurt him a lot tomorrow. **

**He moved a couple feet over to the panel on the wall. Zell tried to open it, it was jammed shut. The impatient boy then proceeded to punch the dark shiny silver panel as hard as he could manage. The door or the panel popped right open after his fist had hit it. **

**"Ouch! Man that friggin hurt!" Zell screeched after he had punched the hard metal panel door. He rubbed his right fist with left hand. Now his right hand hurt along with his arm, he would be about useless tomorrow. The blonde boy stared down at his hand, it was already bright red.**

**"Well, duh, Dr. Odine! Punching a some metal thing will hurt!" Selphie said in the meanest voice she could manage. Zell frowned at her; then turned back around and pulled the panel door off. He started pushing buttons and when nothing else worked he punched all of them in desperation.**

**Selphie opened her mouth in outrage; stood up and ran over to where he was standing. "What do you think you are doing! You're gonna break it!" She yelled at him in a viscous voice. The petite girl didn't want to be stuck in this elevator all day.**

**Zell rolled his baby blue eyes at Selphie in a rude way. "Look, if you have a better idea I'd like to hear it." The spiky haired boy spat back at Selphie, she frowned at him as much as her soft features could manage. Zell shrugged his shoulders and stared defiantly back at her.**

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**Back at the bridge the four teenagers weren't doing much of anything but waiting for their two friends, that were now stuck in an elevator, who hadn't came back yet. Squall had returned to his pacing, while Quistis had finally given up on the loud speaker and sat thinking to herself, Rinoa was twirling her dark hair watching Squall pace with an amused look on her soft featured face, and Irvine was still fast asleep.**

**Squall sighed, and stopped pacing to look at the clock on the left wall, almost four o'clock. He gave his amused girlfriend an unpleasant look. "This is so hopeless, they are never going to come back, and it's been almost thirty minutes!" Squall yelled helplessly. Until their friends decided to come back, they were stuck with nothing to do, and no news of what Headmaster Cid was going to tell them.**

**Quistis Trepe sighed for thousandth time that day. She stared out the window to see if they were getting any nearer to their final destination. The girl's glance first fell upon the sky, seagulls could now be seen flying around carefree with not a trouble in the whole wide world; Quistis began to envy them. Sometimes she wished that she could fly off and leave all of her troubles behind her. **

**The young SeeD squinted do to the bright yellow sun that was now in the way of her view of the seagulls she had been watching fly in a lighthearted manner. The blonde girl moved her neck and ice blue eyes to lower her gaze to see if they were nearing land, to her surprise a sandy coast could be seen not too far from where they were!**

**The girl smiled gleefully and leaped up to her feet as swiftly as she could manage. "Look guys! We're almost home!" She said as she made her way to the transparent glass window so she could look out and pick up a better view of the landscape. The blonde shuttled past Squall who had just stopped his pacing to glance out and see if Quistis was indeed right and they were almost home.**

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**"Oh, I got a great idea let's just wait for it to start back up then!" Zell yelled back at Selphie. He frowned and sat down and leaned against the elevator door with a bump and a heavy sigh. He put his legs out straight in front of him and crossed them at his ankles. This was not his idea of a good day, they were both going to be in trouble, and then he was in double-trouble of course.**

**Selphie sighed and sat down beside the gloomy blonde boy. She sat Indian stile with her hands folded in her lap. Zell turned his head to the side and looked at her. "Why are you sitting by me Miss I'm-oh-so-mad." He asked her in a non-welcoming tone of voice. **

**The brunette frowned at him and opened her mouth to yell some mean and hurtful comeback at him, but she stopped and closed her mouth. "Enough of this! I'm tired of being mad! Being mad sucks big time! I don't know Squall can stand it!" She announced in a loud unhappy voice.**

**Zell laughed at her care-free spirit, leave it to Selphie to brighten up somebody's day. "Hey, I'm sorry, ok? I'll try to be a little nicer ok?" Zell asked her in a nicer tone of voice. Maybe he shouldn't have been quite so mean to the library girl…but she was just so annoying and she never would leave him alone! **

**"Yep, you are going to be nicer, and you'll start off by saying you are sorry to Lili when we get down stairs." Selphie said in a matter-of-fact voice. She couldn't believe how mean he had been to her, she liked him so much too! Selphie liked her, Lili was little too shy to be one of her main friends, but Selphie liked her, she was always very polite and nice.**

**Zell frowned and groaned in an unhappy manner and pulled up his hands and put them behind his head. "Come on Selphie, please don't make me!" Zell bellowed in a very loud voice. He moved his hands back to his side and frowned deeply.**

**"You made her _cry_!" Selphie said in a defending voice. Zell had made quite the scene, making the poor girl cry in front of everyone at Balamb Garden. It had been just awful to watch, that poor girl was just head-over-heels for Zell. Then he had to go and make such an ass of himself, Selphie didn't like to let her friends to make fools of themselves either. **

**Zell flinched at her words, but shrugged his shoulders in a passive gesture. "She'll get over it." He answered flatly. With an outraged mixed with surprised look from Selphie he gave up. "Ok, ok, if we ever get out of this elevator I will I sat that I am sorry? Are you happy now?" He asked raised his eyebrows.**

**Selphie moved over and gave him a big hug. "Good! Now I can be happy again!" She said before she hopped up to her feet. Grinning from ear to ear she walked over to where the panel was. The brunette looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. "High-YA!" She yelled as she kicked it. **

**The elevator shuddered back up to a start. Selphie jumped up in the air triumphantly and smiled so hard it looked like her face was going to get stuck with a big grin on it. "Did anyone ever tell you not to make faces 'cause your face might get stuck like that?" Zell asked in a semi-teasing, semi-curious voice. **

**Selphie pulled her cheek muscles into a even bigger smile, which Zell hadn't thought was possible, and said, "Yes, and it hasn't got stuck yet! Even if it did, I wouldn't mind 'cause I like this smile!" She said in her normal happy voice as she pointed to the grin that she had plastered onto her face.**

**Zell laughed and scrambled to his feet, they were almost to the first floor now.He knew he would have so much fun saying sorry to that library girl, too. What was he going to say? The blonde boy hardly had ever even talked to her, he barely knew her! A "_ding!" _interrupted his thoughts as the elevator door silently slid open to reveal the huge, bubbling, clear blue water fountain at the center of Balamb Garden.**

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**********

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**"Whenever sang my songs…" Rinoa hummed mindlessly as she watched the Garden get closer and closer to the Balamb coastline. "On the stage…on my own…" she continued while staring out over the horizon. Whenever the girl got bored or scared she would always sing one of her mother's songs, it made her feel better when she was sad and it was something to do when she was bored. Her father had wanted her to be a singer…she hated singing though, that really had upset him.**

**"You have a pretty voice," Quistis said to Rinoa as she turned to face her. The blonde girl had never heard Rinoa sing before then, her voice really was quite exceptional. Even though Quistis wasn't exactly fond of Rinoa Heartily she had to admit she had quite the voice. When Quistis was younger she used to sing, but then she got caught up in teaching and dropped the ambition. It wasn't as much as an ambition as it was a hobby for the younger Quistis Trepe.**

**Rinoa looked surprised to what Quistis had just said. The blonde girl really didn't like her all that much, she must really sing good then… "Oh, well, thank you! General Caraway used to think so also, but that was a long time ago when I actually called him my "dad"." She answered in a normal voice. It took all that she had to keep the resentment out of her voice. **

**Quistis shook her head to let Rinoa know she was still paying attention, Quistis thought it best not to bring up the subject of Rinoa's past, especially the issue of her father. The blonde girl sighed and continued to start thoughtlessly out the window, she could see many birds now flying around with no certain purpose, and the coastland was coming into view very quickly. Soon they would be home, back on solid ground, that was a big plus for Quistis because she was getting tired of being in the air. **

**Irvine woke up, and pushed his cowboy hat away from his eyes so that he could see, back to the top of his head. The gun slinging boy walked over to where everyone else was standing mindlessly looking out the window. It seemed that Zell and Selphie still weren't here. He worried about them, what had they been fighting so viscously about? It was very unlike Selphie to get quite that mad, well, unless she was mad at _him_.**

**"So, what's happened, and what time is it?" Irvine questioned his friends as he walked up and stood beside a frowning Squall, nothing out of the ordinary there. Maybe it had annoyed Squall that he was so laid-back he could even take a nap when waiting for important news. "Yes," Irvine thought to himself, "he is sooo obviously jealous."**

**Quistis, without turning her head to look at him, said, "Well, nothing has happened, and it's almost four thirty now." They were all running very behind schedule, and with no indication that Zell and Selphie were going to join their four companions on the bridge any time soon it wasn't looking good for them either. This obstacle of not having the other members of their party missing was beginning to become very serious.**

** **

**********

** **

**Zell and Selphie strode off the elevator simultaneously. There were about ten or twelve people impatiently waiting for the elevator to come back down from the upper two floors. Most of them seemed relieved that the elevator had finally made its way down to them, not half as relieved as Zell and Selphie, but a few other ones wore the same infuriated looks on their faces. **

**"What took so long, huh!? What were you guys doing in that elevator for that long? We can _only_ imagine…" A male student remarked in a mocking tone of voice as he grinned a grin…that looked like something that should be on Seifer Almasy's face. It was eerie how much the two of them looked alike. **

**Zell rolled his blue eyes in a tired manner. He had been through too much today to deal with some young jerk. "Great, we have a new Seifer Almasy already." He thought to himself unhappily, he had just started to enjoy the freedom of no Seifer when some brat comes up thinking he is all powerful and mighty like Seifer used to think before all of this happened. "Well, he isn't Seifer, and I am way older than him." Zell thought to himself.**

**Selphie reacted the same way as Zell, she had never cared for immature jerks, but this guy made her feel really scared for some odd reason... "I don't know what _you _would have done, but we tried to _fix_ it! Now leave us alone," Selphie said dismissively as she proceeded to walk down the stairs toward the fountain. Zell gave the boy one last malicious glare, and followed behind Selphie. The young man just grinned the same grin and thought to himself, "Yeah, I'll leave you alone…for the time being."**

**When they were finally out of hearing range of the people that were by the elevator, Zell motioned for Selphie to come and sit with him on the ledge of the fountain. The two of them changed their direction and sat down beside the tranquil water of the fountain. A light mist of cool water could be felt as they sat beside the huge bubbling fountain.**

**Zell leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and turned his head took look sideways at Selphie. "Selphie, is it just me, or did that kid look exactly like Seifer?" Zell asked her in reflective voice. It couldn't be pure coincidence that some fifteen-year-old looked exactly like their old rival. Or could it?**

**Selphie stared straight out in front of her with a blank look on her face. "That was _really_ creepy, Zell. Something wasn't right with guy, he really creeped me out. We have to tell the others right away…" she trailed off. That guy was really odd; out of place. She had never seen him before, and no one new had joined Garden…**

**"Let's go…" Zell answered to Selphie. He straightened himself and them stood up quickly. Selphie was still sitting in the same exact spot, staring off blankly in front of her. "Uh, Selphie, are you ok?" Zell questioned uncertainly. She was really acting strange,**

**"Yeah…I just…don't feel to well anymore…" Selphie said right before she tipped back and fell with a splash into the clear blue water of the fountain that was behind her.**

**TO BE CONTINUED…**

**REVIEWS PEOPLE! THOSE ARE WHAT I NEEEED!**


	3. Chapter Three

That's Just The Way It Is: Chapter Three

By NikeGrrrrl

  
======  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters, Squaresoft does. I hope we all know that by now! Please don't use my ideas or my story without my permission:-) That's not too much to ask of ya, right? I would never ask too much of ya great guys! You're my readers! You rule! 

======

Authors Note: Well, I put a lot of time into this story, so it means a lot to me that you guys take a minute out of your day to write a nice little review in the box. If you hate this story tell me so! But try to tell what I did wrong so I can get better, ok?

======

One last thing before I go: Thanks to DH and Chris who sometimes are my pre-readers on this series! Thank for all the help guys! :-) You are almost as cool as me! Hehe, j/k you're not near that cool! LOL I'm kidding guys!

======

**Seifer Almasy heaved his chest in and out in as he climbed up some mountain in Esthar which he hadn't bothered to catch the name of. He had been hiking for over three days and the incessant labor was just starting to get to the blonde ex-sorceress' knight.**

** **

**A cold stinging wind gusted down from the shadows somewhere above him; biting at his already raw, reddish nose. Grimacing, he started climbing a little faster; the sooner he finished the better for his sake because the temperature was dropping faster with every step toward the top he made. **

** **

**He studied his surroundings as he hurriedly made his way up to the cabin. Snow was sprinkled around the ground sparsely, it looked almost like small patches of sugar spread about. At the altitude there was hardly any foliage, mostly pine trees and tiny patches of frozen ground with a little bit of grass. **

** **

**Seifer thought about what all that had took place in the past few weeks. Right after the last battle with…Squall…Seifer still had resentment for his rival that he would carry with him forever. All that he had ever wanted was to be happy, Squall had never wanted anything but to follow orders! It just wasn't fair, but like Nadia said, crying about things that he couldn't change wouldn't help anyone, especially him.**

** **

**After he had given Rinoa to the sorceress he had followed Raijin and Fujin to their favorite place, Balamb. They enjoyed fishing so he thought that he might as well humor them and fish, too. The fish didn't take his bait all day, and then to help matters Balamb Garden had flown by. A reminder of what he could never have again. Failure is always hard to deal with, but realizing he had ruined his own life was harder. He thought back to the hardest night for him, the one when he met Nadia.**

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**Walking down one of Balamb's many back streets Seifer thought back to what had happened. The cold rain pelted his body, but he hardly noticed it. To the blonde boy, this life was over. Everything the ambitious young msn had hoped for, had _dreamed_ for was gone. All gone in an instant. He had had everything he could need to achieve his dreams, then with no ones help but his own, he had destroyed everything and everyone dear to him. Yes, and it _hurt_.**

** **

**"So this is the feeling that only the lonely know, it's an unmistakable feeling deep in your soul. It makes you feel low, and I mean _really_ _low_. Lower than I have ever been before…" Seifer thought to himself helplessly as he walked without any given purpose toward the beach. The wind picked up, and he could feel now that he was soaked from head to toe. He dragged his feet against the black wet asphalt and lowered his head to stare at his waterlogged boots.**

** **

**The blonde boy frowned to keep the tears back; he couldn't, he _wouldn't _let himself cry. Seifer Almasy doesn't cry like a baby, he would be strong, he could make it through this. Whenever the blonde boy thought it was starting to get better, this feeling came back. He would try telling himself it would get better someday, everything gets better, right? But this feeling was too real, too deep, he didn't know if it was going to get better. **

** **

**The rain started falling harder from the dark starless sky above him. "In a room of people, even my only two friends, I feel torn apart from them; not connected anymore. It seems no one cares, even Fujin and Raijin think I'm just a nuisance. I hate it." Seifer thought to himself as he got nearer to the dark sandy beach, it was now in his sight. Why should he go on? The pain of living was getting to be too much for even him to handle.**

** **

**There wasn't a soul in sight, after all most people stay indoors in Balamb after about ten o'clock anyway. When the tavern cleared out, everyone was at home, asleep. Sleep, that was something Seifer hadn't had much of these past few weeks. Maybe he was scared to sleep, scared of what he might dream of. He had given up most hope of ever being normal by now anyway.**

** **

**Seifer watched the rain smack the road and splatter into tiny droplets that would settle on the pavement, and flow their way to the sewers or where ever else the rain went. The beach was right in front of him now, sighing deeply he strode onto the wet sand.**

** **

**"It has to be me. What did I ever do to deserve this fate? I'm sure there are people who are more evil and deserve it more than me. I was happy once upon a time…I had everything, love, happiness, fame. Everything I ever wanted. Now, all in an instance…Gone." He thought darkly as he stared ahead of him to the water which he was nearing.**

** **

**"Life ain't fair kid. Get used ta it, and pull yur head out of dem clouds 'cause dreams ain't worth nothing but heartache. They just be a wastin yur time, yull never be anythin, da people who are were born fur greatness. And Is know greatness when I's see it." The words that some grumpy old man had said to him in Fisherman's Horizon when he had been younger. Why hadn't he listened? Would it be easier now if he had?**

** **

**No, then he would be more like Squall. So afraid of losing everything that he would never go for his dreams, never live. He would rather be a sad, depressed, lonely, hated, cold, wet, Seifer Almasy any day. But then why was he so depressed? The boy wanted to be himself, but he just couldn't shake all of the feelings of loneliness, failure, unhappiness, and most of all the fact that Squall was now holding Rinoa in _his_ arms and holding a nice position at Balamb Garden.**

** **

**"I am all alone. It seems like just yesterday that I was surrounded with people I love. It seems that last summer was only a day ago, and I still had Rinoa's heart, and that I was in love. Now look at me, walking alone in the cold rain thinking about past memories of happiness. That's what will kill me, the memories." He thought. The blonde boy was now right in front of the water at the beach, so many memories. Him and Rinoa, how they had first met, he still had to smile at the memory in spite of himself. Rinoa had changed him forever, she'd always hold a special place in his heart.**

** **

**Staring out over the ocean he thought about her, she was probably with Squall having fun, being happy. The strange thing was that, he was happy for her. He truly did love her. Seifer never thought that he would ever love anything enough to be able to let it go and be happy. The thought of it made him frown again, holding back tears.**

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**The waves came in and out, that was the day he stop loving her, the day the waves stopped coming in at Mandy Beach, their favorite spot. Maybe, someday, he would see her again, some place he would least expect it. He wondered if she ever would think of him again…**

** **

**"I can't stand thinking about her anymore. She was once mine… Now laughing and joking…and _loving_ someone else…Squall. The thought makes me feel sick…" The ex-sorceresses knight thought unhappily as he plopped down onto the wet sand softly. The wetness didn't bother him, the blonde was already soaked from head to foot. The funny thing was, he wanted Rinoa to be happy somewhere in his heart, but in another place in his heart he wanted himself to be happy. The fact Squall was holding her bothered him, but then it didn't. **

** **

**He looked out over the ocean, the same ocean he had swam in with Rinoa. The memories burned his heart so badly… "I wish I could just keep on walking until I was so far away that I might someday forget I ever did love her….I say GF's take the memory away so I can…Forget about all of this." Turning his head to the side he saw a seashell, he remembered the necklace Rinoa given him…**

** **

**"Take this…so…you'll always remember me…Be careful!" He could still hear her voice so clearly in his mind as she said that to him before he had left at the end of that summer. Seifer wished that he could turn back time, he had so many regrets about his past. How would he ever escape them? All he wanted was freedom, no more heartache over the things that he had done…and _hadn't_ done.**

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**No regrets…he wished that he could say that, but it would be such a lie. Rinoa, SeeD, his childhood, school, everything. If only he could redo everything, make everything perfect. "I don't know where I went wrong…I thought she loved me. I thought I'd be a SeeD…I thought I'd grow up someday…I did…one day too late…Its just my luck, the day I grow up is just too late…" He thought bitterly to himself. The blonde boy fell backwards upon the cold, wet sand and stared up at the sky. Rain pelted his face softly, he squinted as he looked up at the black sky. He could see the clouds moving quickly across the sky…so much like his life, everything came and went so fast leaving him behind…**

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**"I don't believe people change. Or maybe, I don't _want_ to believe that they change… I'm the same as I always have been, I'll always be Seifer no matter what happens. I never have copped with change well…I'd like to believe others are always the same in their hearts…but, in my heart I know….I'm wrong." The rain splattered against his tan face, and he closed his eyes. The pain was so hard to deal with, how would he ever make it through the pain? How would it ever go away?**

** **

**Seifer pulled his arms behind his head and thought about her face, her smile, the way she talked…"I hate myself for loving her like this. Why can't I just be happy? No matter how hard I try I can't shake this feeling of loneliness….It hurts so bad!" Seifer thought angrily as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and slapped the sand as hard as he could with his right hand. The memories were going to drive him crazy.**

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**"I'm tired of the lonely nights…by myself reading old notes, looking at pictures, and thinking of past fun… dwelling on everything. If only I had somebody to help me through this, a mom a dad….a sister a brother…a _girlfriend_….." He thought helplessly. "Someone needs to save me from myself, my own thoughts are going to be the death of me." Seifer thought to himself as he pulled his body up to his feet and prepared to walk down the beach. Sometime walking would help him feel a tiny bit better.**

** **

**The rain was starting to thicken, to rain harder. It didn't bother him though, a little rain was about the smallest of his problems at the moment. He stared out over the blank and endless ocean, his thought ran away with him. What if…? The "what ifs" were another one of his major problems…What if he was with Rinoa? What if the got married? What if he had passed SeeD? What if he could follow orders? What if his parents hadn't died? What if….**

** **

**The ex-Gunblade specialist could now make out a pier that was no further than a mile down the dark, windy beach. Maybe, he should go to it…there might be more shelter from the rain there, and he could collect his thoughts better. Without thinking further he stepped up his pace; he could reach the pier sooner if he wasn't dragging himself along.**

** **

**Seifer finally knew how Quistis felt…depressed. He had always given her such a hard time, the boy had made it ten times worse for the instructor. The blonde hated himself for it, because he was now depressed, he knew what she was going through. Looking back at everything he had done he grimaced. All the memories came flooding back to him, from beating up Zell, making fun of kids who showed their emotions, fighting with Squall, laughing cruelly at people, giving his infamous smile to those who needed a little push off the edge, to everything else. Looking back at his life, he noticed that he had been a pretty hateful and mean person.**

** **

**He ignored his fatigue for the moment as he thought about the past back at Garden. No one had liked him. Everyone had feared him, even Fujin and Raijin. That's the way he had wanted it to be, he never wanted anyone to know how scared and lonely he was. The boy had always wanted to look like he had no emotions, he had never really showed any to anyone. Maybe Cid or Xu had seen a glimpse of who he really was, but just a glimpse, and nothing more. **

** **

**Seifer was so proud…too proud to even tell Rinoa how he felt, he would never be able to get over that either. It wasn't like he had had an easy childhood, growing up with no parents to love you, no one…he hadn't turned out too well. If only he could get past the emotional barriers of his own heart and mind…maybe then he would be able to let everything go….**

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**"I wish I were strong…heartless like I make people to believe, Seifer Almasy the strong…All lies. Just when I feel better I see them…happy like I used to be. And then my heart aches…I never knew what people meant by "heartache". Now I understand all too well." He said aloud shaking his head. How did he get himself into this mess? When did this all start? How long ago was it? All he knew was that it was too long ago for anyone to believe that he could change. The thing was he didn't have to change, the real Seifer was him, just flatly, it was him, why didn't anyone but Rinoa ever see that? Why did everyone have to think that he was so complicated? He wasn't, he was just plain old Seifer…well, he used to be. **

** **

**Thinking back to the months before the SeeD exam he remembered the way he used to act. "I used to laugh about insecurity. Who's laughing now? It sure isn't me. I hide the way I feel with rude comments, or making someone else insecure…I was just trying to cope with the voice in the back of my head that was telling me I was never going to be a SeeD, Squall would get it and I wouldn't. I was so paranoid that my insecurities might be true, I ruined my life." He thought solemnly. The teenager had ruined his own life…that really hurt him. To know how close you were to succeeding when you failed really eats you up inside.**

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**How did he get here? Everything was turning into a blur, the fighting, the pain, the love, the memories. How did he get here? It was mind boggling, it seemed like just the other day he had been with Rinoa. The day after that he was a SeeD candidate…frowning he shook his head trying to rid himself of the thought.**

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**The dark and shadowy pier raised up in front of him as he walked. "Would they care if I never came back?**

**I really don't know. If I died only then would they realize how they felt. What comfort is that to me now while I am here? If only someone knew…The only way to make them realize how important I was is to…." His thoughts trailed off. He was now at the pier. The boy pulled himself up the concrete steps to the top of the pier.**

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**As he looked about him when he got past the steps he noticed a few thing: one that this pier looked like no one had even walked on it for twenty years, two that this pier was the longest he had ever seen in his many travels, three that this was not an ordinary pier. There was a covering above one side of the pier. At one time this pier look like it had been very nice.**

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**Seifer walked until he got to the very end of the pier. The rain was still coming down rather hard, and the wind was picking up by the minute. He sat down on the soaked wood and hung his feet over the edge of the side like he had so many time before when Rinoa and him would go to the Mandy Beach Pier and talk late at night. The ocean below him was going crazy, the waves were wild with foam and smacking up against the pier. **

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**Putting his hands to his side and dangling his feet over the side thoughtfully he sank deeper into depression. "I wish I could die and come back to see who was sad about me dying. I wish with all my heart I had some reassurance that someone on this earth loved me…" He thought grimly as he stared blankly down to the waves below him. The sea was raging, just like his soul. The wind was getting colder, as was he. **

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**"Maybe if I were better at voicing these feelings inside my soul it would be better. Maybe they don't know how they are treating me, I can't tell them It's too hard…And I don't believe in holding on to something that is gone." Seifer thought as he closed his eyes and thought about everything, SeeD, Rinoa, his life…why? Why should he go on? He had no reason to live anymore.**

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**Opening his eyes and looking at the rain as it hit the water, he made a hard decision. "Maybe I should put an end to the hurt and pain…It is getting unbearable…I can't deal with this anymore, maybe I should just end it all right here, right now." The helpless boy thought as he got to his feet. He looked down, it was a long way to the water…if anyone jumped it would probably knock them out cold and with the weather the way it was they would most likely drown also****…**

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# TO BE CONTINUED…

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**Good? Bad?! Tell ME!!!!!!!! REEEEEEEEVIEW THIS PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!! PLEEEEEEEEEASE!?**


	4. Chapter Four

That's Just The Way It Is: Chapter Four

By NikeGrrrrl

  
======  
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters, Squaresoft does. I hope we all know that by now! Please don't use my ideas or my story without my permission:-) That's not too much to ask of ya, right? I would never ask too much of ya great guys! You're my readers! You rule! 

======

Authors Note: Well, I put a lot of time into this story, so it means a lot to me that you guys take a minute out of your day to write a nice little review in the box. If you hate this story tell me so! But try to tell what I did wrong so I can get better, ok? Oh, and sorry this one is so short :-)

======

One last thing before I go: Thanks to DH and Chris who sometimes are my pre-readers on this series! Thank for all the help guys! :-)

======

** **

**As he prepared to end all of the pain and suffering he heard a voice that startled him. "Wait! What are you doing?!" A feminine voice yelled not too far behind where he was preparing to take his own life. Seifer swung his stiff body around as quickly as he could manage to glare at the lady who had interrupted him without any warning. **

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**The girl was about five foot eight, shoulder length blonde hair (That was soaked), and her big green eyes stared back at him curiously as she let her hands fall to her sides. She was wearing a dark colored tank top, a pair of jean shorts, and thick soled brown sandals that were all also drenched. She reminded him of a younger and prettier version of Trepe....The girl took a few steps closer to him and tilted her head to the side.**

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**"What are you doing? Trying to kill yourself, eh?" She asked with a heavy accent. The girl held her hands out toward him. "Come here will ya? You'll catch your death....but, I guess that's what you wanted, no?" She said grinning broadly at him. The rain started pouring down on the two of them harder and the girl stared up to the sky. "Quite the bloody storm, eh? Look over yonder, tis lightening." The pretty girl said to him sweetly as she a warm smile swept across her full cherry red lips.**

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**Seifer took a cautious step away from the edge and glared at her for making a joke at his expense. "Who are you? And why don't you mind your own business and leave me _alone_!" He yelled furiously at her and he furrowed his eyebrows together. When he saw the young girl wasn't daunted by his yelling he frowned deeply and put his hand to his side to feel for his Gunblade. The boy unsheathed it and let it hang by his side, just barely scratching the wooden boards of the pier. Still frowning he waited to see what the girl would do.**

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**Laughing the girl pulled out a weapon that had been behind her. "Hmmm, killing a lass isn't very honorable, eh? Well, I have a Gunblade, too, so put yours away before you do something rash! Come, come, can't you settle and talk to me? Don't you ever tire of killing defenseless girls?" She said grinning again. Seifer's face turned bright red as he tossed his Gunblade to the wooden boards of the pier in anger. **

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**"Just, just leave me alone! Why are you out here this late anyway? Leave if you don't want to die," Seifer screeched at her as he bent down to pick up his Gunblade which he thrown down in his haste. As he reached down he saw a blade in front of his grasp of the weapon. He dove to the other side to grab his weapon before the girl would pick it up.**

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**"Now, now, play nice!" The girl said to him as she bent down and snatched the Gunblade before he could get his hands on it. Grinning broadly she sheathed her own Gunblade and turned his around in her hands. "Hmmm, nice, eh? Looks to be a Hyperion....one of the most difficult to master, no?" She asked him thoughtfully. When she got no reply and just an icy glare, she proceeded to ask more questions. "Where did you ever learn to use such a weapon? There are no instructors to help with a weapon such as this where I come from." The blonde girl said to him as she motioned for him to stand up.**

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**Seifer stood up and stared at her menacingly. "I _used_ to go to Garden." He said flatly. The girl noticed the resentment in his voice and nodded knowingly. "Now leave me alone!" Seifer yelled at her. When she laughed at his outburst again he began to lose it. "What are you laughing at?! I didn't say anything funny!" He said furiously as he threw his hands about in pure rage.**

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**"Well, I think you should calm down before you hurt yourself. Now, if you ask nicely, I shall give you your weapon back. You do want it back, don't you?" She asked tauntingly as she looked at Seifer. A crack of thunder made both of them jump a little and look over the ocean to see the coming storm. The girl frowned and looked piercingly at Seifer, it was defiantly not going to be safe holding two metal Gunblades in a lightening storm.**

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**Seifer thought for about these events in his head thoroughly for a moment, did he really care if she had his Gunblade? It meant nothing to him now; nothing mattered to him anymore. "Take it; take it as a trophy, I think you'll have more use for it here than I'll have for it in hell," The desperate boy said darkly as he turned around and took a deep breathe, so this is what the end felt like....**

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**"So, is Selphie gonna be O.K. Doctor?" Quistis asked Dr. Kadowaki in an anxious tone of voice. What had happened to Selphie was very odd, not to mention that boy Zell said that the two of them had seen before the accident took place. Headmaster Cid said that after they had found out if Selphie was going to be alright all of them were to report to the bridge on time. He was very unhappy with all that had gone on, they were _not_ to repeat this day ever again.**

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**The middle-aged doctor managed to smile tiredly as she plopped down into her chair beside her desk. "Yes, Selphie will be fine in a few days. All she needs is some rest. You kids should make your way to the bridge before you get yourselves in any more trouble." She finished with a wink of her eye.**

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**Quistis smiled and thanked the doctor, for the twentieth time that day, before she motioned for her friends to file out of the room to make their way to the top floor. Irvine wore a worried look on his face as he stayed behind everyone else to catch a word with Quistis before they went to the third floor.**

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**Irvine looked at the floor and let his hands hang at his side. "Uh, Quis, is she gonna be O.K,?" He asked moving his gaze up to look at Quistis in the eyes. The cowboy worried about little Selphie, she was just petite and everything.**

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**Quistis turned around to look at Irvine who was still standing in the infirmary. "Yes, of course she will, you heard the doctor. Now get a move on!" Quistis answered to him in a heartless manner as she brushed past him to follow the others. Irvine frowned deeply, but followed behind her slowly after a quick thoughtful look at where Selphie's peaceful sleeping form was resting serenely.**

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**He felt slender arms wrap around his waist; grab him and pull him away from the edge of the slippery pier. "Do not do it! I promise it is not worth it!" The girl said in a hurried voice as she pulled them both to the wooden boards of the pier with a bump.**

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**Seifer struggled to break free of her grasp around his waist. "Let go of me! Why do you care about me so dam much!" Seifer yelled at her furiously as he finally rid her arms from around his waist. He fumbled around for a second before he regained his balance and pulled himself up to his unsteady feet. The soaked Seifer turned around and glared down at her.**

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**The girl was sitting on the pier with he legs in front of her from their struggle, drenched and still grinning at him. That grin was going to drive him crazy; now he knew how everyone else felt about his own infamous grin he would flash all to easily. **

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**"Well, you would try to stop me if I were trying to myself, no?" She asked as she put her hands behind her back to support her weight. The girl looked up at him and smiled sweetly, a truly genuine smile. It irked Seifer the way she grinned so easily.**

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**"No! I woulda minded my own business!" He screeched as unpleasant as his voice would manage, this young girl really mad his nerves flare. She was just....too pleasant....**

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**She frowned slightly for a moment as she stared up at the lightening that was brightening the sky in an eerie light. The girl sighed deeply before she jumped to her feet and grabbed his big wet hand and started pulling, _dragging _him toward the stairs to get off of the pier. **

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**"Well, we can argue later. Maybe you fancy looking death in the eye and spitting at him, but _I_ on the other hand would like to _live_. Ok, come on let's get off this before lightening strikes us down." She said sternly as she tried with all that she had not to slip on the soaked wooden boards while she dragged a half-willing Seifer Almasy.**

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Seifer skidded after the young girl as she pulled him down the boards by a iron-tight grip on his left arm. He trailed behind her on his bottom not knowing what else to do. Well one thing about her was for sure, she meant business.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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